The intelligence being provided

And difference it's making

The work of the National Cancer Registration Service and the data it holds is making a significant contribution to improving the way that cancer is diagnosed and treated. As well as supporting many specific research projects, there are six primary uses for the data:

Track overall cancer rates and survival statistics

Measure outcomes within specialist teams and hospital trusts

Inform decisions about NHS care and service provision

Compare UK cancer survival rates with other countries

Improve and ensure the safety of cancer screening programmes

Help clinicians provide the best personalised care to each cancer patient

Increasingly, the data within the Registration Service is helping to provide evidence of an individual’s risk of getting cancer, as well as helping to deliver information to clinicians to provide the best care to their patients.

Because the information held is personal and confidential, Public Health England’s information governance experts from the Office for Data Release ensure data is only released to appropriate individuals and organisations and only when proper, proven safe-guards are in place. No data that can directly identify patients is ever released without their permission, or unless the organisation requesting it can prove that they have been given legal permission to obtain the information and can provide evidence that their data security systems meet the current NHS standards.

To find out more about who can access the data and in what form or level of detail click here.